In the spring of 2014, I was having dinner with Judd Apatow at an
Italian restaurant around the corner from the Comedy Cellar, in New
York, and he was telling me about this movie Trainwreck that he was
about to direct (in which he would cast me) and he said, “The good
thing is I’ll be in New York, so I can do stand-up every night after the
shoot,” and I thought, I don't think he understands how stand-up works.

In fairness to Judd, he did understand how it worked. As a high-school
student in 1980s Long Island he would make cold calls and get well-known
comedians like Garry Shandling and Jerry Seinfeld to appear on his
school’s radio station. By the time he was 19 he was doing stand-up
himself and, shortly after that, appeared on HBO’s Young Comedians
Special. But Judd wasn’t content enough with his act to stay personally
invested in the art of stand-up. Surrounded by friends like Adam Sandler
and Jim Carrey, who would become mega-stars in front of the camera, Judd
abandoned the stage and veered into writing for shows like The Ben
Stiller Show and The Larry Sanders Show. Twenty-five years later he’s
the most recognizable comedy brand in Hollywood.

So he should go back to stand-up again, right? Maybe not, but he did.
And fortunately for comedy fans like me, the result is entirely
personal, original, and hilarious. I’ve always thought that stand-up is
a combination of creativity plus stage time. But watching Judd made me
think it's a combination of creativity plus wisdom. And Judd has a lot
of wisdom.

Judd has a healthy marriage of 20 years. His children are grounded and
self-possessed. I once asked Judd if he was raised with religion, and he
said, “My mother didn’t teach us religion, but she taught us to be
kind.” Judd’s new special, The Return, on Netflix this month, explores
that idea: How can you raise decent kids and have a good marriage in
these strange, modern times? He tells the story of a man struggling with
that question with a candor and wit that only the best comedians have.
Should Judd Apatow have gone back to stand-up? Absolutely.